Book Bondings
by Paige M. Carter
Summary: Sam and Tobius take the first steps toward bonding. Takes place in skag trendy's 'Shades of Night' world.


The sound of movement roused Tobius out of his peaceful sleep. A quick smell of the house told him that the source of the sound was his grandson. Curious as to what Sam was doing up, especially since he was still recovering from Gordon Walker's horrific torture. He rose and walked out into the living room.

Sam was there, curled up on the sofa, a book in his hands. The sight made him smile, he remembered Dean telling him that Sam loved reading and school when they'd discussed Sam going to college. Seeing that the book was one of his personal favorites, he stepped over to the couch, "What're you doing up, young pup?"

Sam jumped a little and glanced up almost guiltily, "I um, I couldn't sleep so I thought I'd read something."

Tobius frowned, "Does this happen often?"

Sam shrugged, "Sometimes, don't tell Dean though, he worries."

Tobius smiled and sat down next to his grandson, "What're you reading?"

"A Tale of Two Cities," Sam said with a sad smile, "At my last school before Dean…left, we started reading it but we left before I could finish it and when I saw it on your shelf," He gave Tobius a fearful look. "You don't mind, do you?"

Tobius sighed, silently cursing John Winchester for nearly breaking this boy and making him so afraid, "No, I don't mind. Dean told me that you loved to read." They sat together for several minutes before Tobius spoke again, "Sam, your father and I were talking the night you were turned and he told me that because the two of you and John moved so much that the two of you sometimes had trouble keeping up in school, but he wasn't sure about what happened after he left."

Sam shrugged, "School wasn't extremely important to Da-John, and after Dean left, he just stopped caring all together. I haven't been to school since Dean left. When we'd stop in a town, Dad would leave me in the motel room or apartment to do research, and after I started getting hurt, I couldn't go anyway."

Tobius took several deep breaths as his anger at John Winchester grew before continuing, "Well, Dean and I talked about it and I thought that instead of putting you in and taking you out of schools all the time, we thought about doing homeschooling. That way you don't have to worry about whether you're behind or not."

Sam looked up in surprise, "Can you do that?"

Tobius laughed, "I've been alive for eight hundred years, young pup, I think I'm more than capable of teaching you. I have a friend who is a teacher and he knows what courses and tests you need to take , plus I know quite a bit more about history than those textbooks do."

Sam brightened and Tobius felt his soul lighten. He hadn't wanted to admit to not being sure what his relationship with his grandson would be considering how little Sam knew about him other than him being the one who turned Dean and started the chain of events that almost cost Sam his life. "Is that okay with you?"

Sam nodded, and Tobius smiled and cautiously stretched out an arm across the back of the sofa as the boy went back to his book.

They sat there reading for about an hour before Sam finally began to doze off. Tobius smiled and carefully marked the boy's place in the book before scooping his grandson up in his arms and carrying him back to the room he shared with Dean. As he entered the room, he was a little surprised to find Dean awake and waiting for them.

"How long have you been awake," He asked his son as he gently deposited Sam into his bed.

Dean shrugged, "Awhile. I was going to go get him but I heard you get up and decided to wait."

Tobius smiled, sensing what Dean didn't wasn't saying; he wanted Sam and Tobius to get to know each other without him around."Well, Sam's all on board with the homeschooling idea, he seemed rather excited about it."

Dean chuckled softly, "That doesn't surprise me. Kid's always been big on going to school. It's about the only thing he showed real enthusiasm for."

Tobius gently covered Sam with the blanket, he briefly wondered if he should tell Dean about what Sam had told him about their human father and school but decided against it, Dean probably already knew or had guessed and bringing it up wouldn't do anything but reopen wounds that were still healing.

After making sure Sam was safely tucked in under his brotherfather's watchful gaze, Tobius left the room, now confident that their little pack had just taken another step toward being a true family.

The End


End file.
